My name is… Marcie Colleen. Pronounced MAR-see CAW-leen.
I am a… a children’s author! Wow. That feels super happy to say. It truly is the best job ever. I mean, in the past I have been a classroom teacher, an actress, and a nanny, but now I get to spend my days using my imagination to create books for kids!
Right now you can find my Super Happy Party Bears chapter book series and my picture book LOVE, TRIANGLE on the bookshelves wherever books are sold or borrowed.
As a kid, I was… always very creative. I took dance and sang in choirs. I taught myself to read music and had a short stint in piano lessons. I performed in a lot of plays and musicals. And I even wrote stories, poems, and songs. The coolest thing is that I still have some of those stories. Like THE RAINBOW HUNT. In this story, a group of neighborhood kids try to figure out where rainbows come from. They then ask the smart one, named Marcie, and she gives them the answer. I was very creative…and apparently quite humble.
My favorite part of this book, however, is the About the Author section. How cool is this?!
Writing is… my jam. Not only do I write books, but I also write in my journal every morning. It’s a great way to get in touch with what I am thinking and how I am feeling. Sure, I could just ask myself, “How are you feeling, Marcie? What are you thinking?” But the act of taking the time to slow down my thoughts and feelings to get them down on paper is quite therapeutic. Once I connect with myself, I feel better equipped to take on the day and complete whatever tasks come my way.
Reading is… the way I escape and relax. My mother instilled a love of reading before bedtime in me since I was very little. To this day, my mom still reads before turning out the light and I do, too. There is something about escaping to another world before sleeping that I find so comforting.
Funny thing is, I don’t read any adult books…unless they are non-fiction. I find adult fiction something I can’t relate to. I think it’s because one of the cardinal rules of kid lit is that all books, no matter how dark the content, need to end with hope. It’s that hope that I choose to read about. Therefore, no adult fiction.
Books are… everywhere in my house. I have a to-be-read pile by my bed, by the couch, on my desk, and books are bursting off my bookshelves. Of course, I could go through them and weed out. But most of my kids books are signed by the author. That makes it very difficult. Either, I need to stop being friends with so many prolific people or buy more bookshelves!
Did you know… the VERY FIRST book I sold is FINALLY coming out tomorrow! It’s PENGUINAUT!, illustrated by Emma Yarlett.
It’s about a spunky little penguin named Orville who lives at the zoo, surrounded by animal pals who go on exciting adventures. A hang gliding rhino! A deep-sea diving giraffe! Orville struggles to keep up, until one day he concocts an adventure all his own: build a spaceship and fly to the moon all by himself. I am super excited to introduce Orville to any kid with big dreams and a strong sense of determination.
Kids can take Orville on adventures of their own and possibly win a signed copy. Download your Orville here and use #Penguinaut on Twitter.
You can find me… all over the place! In fact, I travel all year round, all over the country for events. Check out my Appearances tab on my website (www.thisismarciecolleen.com) to see if I will be in a town near you! I would also love it if you would follow me on Twitter @MarcieColleen1.
Jarrett Lerner 
Marcie’s house sounds like mine at least as far as books everywhere. I always read before bed as it relaxes me and untangles my brain. I have to read Love Triangle as this is a “love triangle” I will enjoy. I hardly ever read adult books except for non-fiction as the subject matter is usually more than I can stand. Thanks for this post!
Great post! I always “wrote” stories as well! As a K-1 teacher our mantra in class is “read, read, read and write, write, write!!! 🙂